I like this idea of [[JenettsProjects#IR_Harp|Jenett]]'s. Maybe we can do it with lasers once we get the IR version working.

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== Strandbeest ==

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==Printers==

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We will make a 12-legged Jansen mechanism in a form factor more similar to a Chebyshev mechanism, which hopefully, we will be able to ride. Driving and steering mechanisms left aside, and gait also being considered much much later, we begin by building one leg.

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Based on computer models{here}, the construction methodology takes advantage of the design's slicability. That is, linkages can be layered or stacked, with no possibility of collision between two linkages that are stacked on different layers. Cool. Easy.

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After experimenting with beer cartons and Popsicle(tm) brand sticks, tinker-toys were the next choice, but I couldn't find any big enough.

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$65 of nutsnbolts and $50? (thanks dosman) of lumber went into the final version, as well as an entire futon. Thanks Joe! Your futon is the best! nva4gt:)

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Using odd lengths of scrap 1x2, the first leg was born thusly:{pic here}

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The next legs were not made with 6' and 8' lowe's crap lumber, but quality pine from Black Lumber Co. in Bloomington, IN. That reminds me, I need to set up a web2.0 lumber company, lumbr.com -- hahaha.

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{pic of final build, painted, goes here}

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Well, the project had a snag or two. Foremost, the "layers" didn't want to stay in their simple 2D plane in the real version. This led to one leg trying to go past the adjacent leg, and getting snagged on a bolt and tripping itself. Major issue, unresolved. So while the beest moves some, it doesn't just "roll" like theo jansen's beest rolls along the beaches. Rats.

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Next, the mechanical linkage from our motors to our legs is a bit delicate. Though I ordered standard 1/2" pitch sprockets, which is ANSI standard #40, I got something in the mail that just wasn't right in tooth pitch or width, and the company that shipped them can't help because they didn't make them. It sucks. I'll probably switch to using rubber belts, because I know my way around plywood and a circle jig on the bandsaw pretty well, and don't have access to a gear making shop, and the last time I asked someone else to do it, they TOTALLY bollixed it up.

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The answer is MOAR POWAH. I will be building an OSMC to gently squeeze the everliving amps out of our batteries and gracefully ramp speed on two motors.

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== IR Remote Stuff ==

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I want to turn on lights and motors by IR remote control.

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I don't want to build the remote, because until I have a CNC machine of some kind, battery enclosures confound me, and while I love the feel of a project box in my hands, some prefer something more svelte. Also, remotes keep working while durable electronic goods encounter minor repair issues and get thrown out, so there are lots lying around, and I have a few.

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However, the language these common remotes speak isn't one I designed, and it varies from device to device. I'll have to learn the language my remote speaks.

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PyroElectro looks like a good source for information: http://www.pyroelectro.com/tutorials/infrared_ir_receiver/index.html

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== Printers to Mills ==

I have a number of canon printers (high quality stuff) to teardown, scrap, and salvage.

I have a number of canon printers (high quality stuff) to teardown, scrap, and salvage.

The printers include steel rods, stepper motors, drivers, and other cool components.

The printers include steel rods, stepper motors, drivers, and other cool components.

An order from SDP/SI, McMaster, and ebay later, we are ready to begin. The hardware is straightforward: We will use the bloominglabs bandsaw to cut some shapes out of wood for the body, but they will ave to be proportioned to the rods and leadscrews we are using.

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We have many nice rods now, and 2 each of several lengths. approx. 14", 11", and 9", which will be used for the x, y and z axes respectively. That means the footprint of the mill will be 14x11" or so. The x table will be an bit shorter, to make up for the thickness of the material on the left and right sides supporting the y axis, so 10" perhaps, and half as long as the axis it rides on, so around 6 or 7 inches.

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After brief discussion of fabrication methods, it's been informally decided to be informal about the construction, as any repeatability of our dimensions would require the same rods, and therefore perhaps the same printers.

Revision as of 12:30, 9 October 2011

Contents

Strandbeest

We will make a 12-legged Jansen mechanism in a form factor more similar to a Chebyshev mechanism, which hopefully, we will be able to ride. Driving and steering mechanisms left aside, and gait also being considered much much later, we begin by building one leg.

Based on computer models{here}, the construction methodology takes advantage of the design's slicability. That is, linkages can be layered or stacked, with no possibility of collision between two linkages that are stacked on different layers. Cool. Easy.

After experimenting with beer cartons and Popsicle(tm) brand sticks, tinker-toys were the next choice, but I couldn't find any big enough.
$65 of nutsnbolts and $50? (thanks dosman) of lumber went into the final version, as well as an entire futon. Thanks Joe! Your futon is the best! nva4gt:)

Using odd lengths of scrap 1x2, the first leg was born thusly:{pic here}

The next legs were not made with 6' and 8' lowe's crap lumber, but quality pine from Black Lumber Co. in Bloomington, IN. That reminds me, I need to set up a web2.0 lumber company, lumbr.com -- hahaha.
{pic of final build, painted, goes here}

Well, the project had a snag or two. Foremost, the "layers" didn't want to stay in their simple 2D plane in the real version. This led to one leg trying to go past the adjacent leg, and getting snagged on a bolt and tripping itself. Major issue, unresolved. So while the beest moves some, it doesn't just "roll" like theo jansen's beest rolls along the beaches. Rats.

Next, the mechanical linkage from our motors to our legs is a bit delicate. Though I ordered standard 1/2" pitch sprockets, which is ANSI standard #40, I got something in the mail that just wasn't right in tooth pitch or width, and the company that shipped them can't help because they didn't make them. It sucks. I'll probably switch to using rubber belts, because I know my way around plywood and a circle jig on the bandsaw pretty well, and don't have access to a gear making shop, and the last time I asked someone else to do it, they TOTALLY bollixed it up.

The answer is MOAR POWAH. I will be building an OSMC to gently squeeze the everliving amps out of our batteries and gracefully ramp speed on two motors.

IR Remote Stuff

I want to turn on lights and motors by IR remote control.

I don't want to build the remote, because until I have a CNC machine of some kind, battery enclosures confound me, and while I love the feel of a project box in my hands, some prefer something more svelte. Also, remotes keep working while durable electronic goods encounter minor repair issues and get thrown out, so there are lots lying around, and I have a few.

Printers to Mills

I have a number of canon printers (high quality stuff) to teardown, scrap, and salvage.
The printers include steel rods, stepper motors, drivers, and other cool components.
Is it enough stuff to make a RepRap? Let's find out.

Construction of the mills

An order from SDP/SI, McMaster, and ebay later, we are ready to begin. The hardware is straightforward: We will use the bloominglabs bandsaw to cut some shapes out of wood for the body, but they will ave to be proportioned to the rods and leadscrews we are using.

We have many nice rods now, and 2 each of several lengths. approx. 14", 11", and 9", which will be used for the x, y and z axes respectively. That means the footprint of the mill will be 14x11" or so. The x table will be an bit shorter, to make up for the thickness of the material on the left and right sides supporting the y axis, so 10" perhaps, and half as long as the axis it rides on, so around 6 or 7 inches.

After brief discussion of fabrication methods, it's been informally decided to be informal about the construction, as any repeatability of our dimensions would require the same rods, and therefore perhaps the same printers.